Kataho
by Naruto Fan Productions
Summary: Kagome/OC. It wasn't uncommon for her to feel as if she had missed out on something. Especially after giving up on obtaining Inuyasha's love. Now she could see what it was. At least she could say for certain that her life wasn't wasted-she had finally found her purpose.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any of the mentioned song(s). I also do not make any profit of this story.

**Inspiration: **Soñera by Thomas Bergersen

_Mature, Slight Sexual Content_ (non-explicit)_, Original Character(s) and Cursing._

**Summary: **In an age of rapid paces and obsolete effort, a choice must first be made.

_**Chapter One:**_ Gijutsu

A grey cast of clouds hung over head ominously. The trees' swaying steadily began to increase in ferocity-a sure sign of the storm to come. Regardless a young woman sat resolute on the wooden bench. The children who were previously playing carelessly behind her had long since fled to the safety of nearby buildings. Her lips pulled into a small frown. There was so little time left yet…. her crystal gaze fell onto the scene before her. A darkly colored lake reflected the brilliant greens of the trees next to it and the multi-toned flowers just by its embankment.

There were still so many details that she had intended to catch before packing up. She glanced back at the canvas in front of her. It was half finished at best. The details were still so blurry and the shadings just didn't seem to be quite 'right'. Thinking fast, she quickly pulled out a camera from her pack and snapped a picture of the setting she had been painting. As if on queue, a strike of lightning shot down from the earth just past the lake in the trees beyond. The young woman paused, and then rechecked the picture that she had taken. Much to her amazement, the photo hadn't been completely blinded by the lightning strike. Instead a beautiful and twisted line of electricity shot down the middle of the picture into the backdrop. Tendrils of the light stretched out over the clouds above and it became thicker the closer to the ground it got. She smiled. This would be perfect. Without further hesitation she swiftly packed up her materials and gently carried her canvas out to her vehicle.

Once the piece of art was nestled securely in her back seat, she climbed in the front and started on her way to class. The congestion of traffic slowed her progress considerably, however it wasn't too long before she managed to pull into her usual parking spot at her community college.

Kagome slid her seat back a bit and simply watched the rain drizzle from beyond the concrete barrier. She didn't have much to worry about since the parking garage's ceiling covered the entire path to the school's entrance. The clouds suddenly grew black and the rain began to fall much harder. The young woman closed her eyes. It had been several weeks since their last downpour. She was really starting to appreciate the rain much more. It had always been rather soothing to her.

The dim lights lulled her to a light slumber. For several minutes she laid comfortably in her seat listening to the soft padding of the rain hitting the ground outside. Alas such a wondrous moment was not meant to last. Just as soon as she drifted off, the resonance of chirping birds followed by mechanical vibrations reverberated from her pocket. It was her alarm. She had only a few minutes left to get to class before being counted 'absent'. Her teacher was a bit of a stickler for attendance this semester. Although her previous track record back in middle school wasn't exactly doing her any favors either.

Sighing Kagome returned her seat back to its original position, grabbed her supplies, then gently made her way to the back seat once more. She leaned in and carefully and pulled the canvas out from its secured spot. Satisfied that none of the paint had been damaged from the drive, she quickly shut the door with her hip and locked it.

Just as the young woman made it inside, another bolt of lightning struck close to the edifice. Today, she could already tell, would not be very good.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha paced impatiently by the well. It had been <em>well <em>over half a day now! Where was that woman? His golden gaze narrowed at the wooden structure darkly. He was so incredibly tempted. His index finger twitched slightly from its grasp on his haori.

"Don't even think about it." Sango quipped from behind him. The hanyou stopped to turn his glare onto her. He didn't need her to chastise him!

"Who said I was gonna do it anyways?" The male huffed. He swiftly perched himself upon one of the tree's boughs and made himself comfortable. All he'd have to do is wait for her to leave, and then he'd drag Kagome back here. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea to him. The slayer sighed exasperatedly.

"You really don't get it do you?" The brunette inquired. Much to Inuyasha's chagrin, she too, made herself comfortable at the base of the tree he resided in. Obviously she wasn't going to let him go through the well so easily. So to counter her comment, he merely gave her his usual response.

"Feh!" The silver-haired male turned to the side to face away from her. It was only then that he noticed the slight twinge of salt to her scent. His ears perked up. Had she been crying earlier? "So what's up with you?" Inuyasha asked casually, attempting to hide his concern. Although his attempts were very much in vein.

Sango remained unusually silent. This caused him to fidget uncomfortably. What was wrong with her?

"Tell me something," she spoke up after a while, "Why is it that you keep bringing Kagome back when you don't even want her?" She stopped momentarily, as if contemplating her next words, "At least not like the way you want Kikyou. Is she merely just a tool for you Inuyasha? A mirror of Kikyou that you can use when you please?"

The hanyou nearly stopped breathing. He hadn't expected that. "What's it to you?" He growled out defensively. It wasn't his intention to concrete her point. Truly it wasn't. He didn't see Kagome as some sort of tool, however he felt the need to defend himself against this verbal attack on his character. Sure he screwed up a lot in the past, but that didn't make him a total jerk!

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, I didn't mean to offended you but…." Her voice trailed off. For the first time since she had joined their group, Sango appeared to be rather uncertain. "…. I just need to know…" She continued.

"Is it me you're asking about? Or the monk?" He barked gruffly. She winced and he knew that he hit the nail on the head. The hanyou leap down from his branch to sit next to her. "So what happened?"

* * *

><p>Kagome growled to herself. She had been right. This <em>was<em> turning out to be a bad day! All because some idiot who was well beyond late decided to spill coffee all over her blouse, she ended up being late for class. Not to mention the burning sensation that lasted for several minutes afterwards. So now she had Professor Roba breathing down her neck and giving her the death glare throughout the entirety of the class. He certainly lived up to his name. He was a middle-aged man. His hair was a soft white and had receded greatly in the past several weeks-leaving only a small crown around the back of his head that was still covered in his hair. He also had this habit of lowering his moon-shaped spectacles to emphasize his anger or irritation at a student.

Kagome sweat dropped when she saw him use said technique on her. Instead of giving him the desired 'cowering' response, she merely turned back to her previous canvas she had been working on earlier in the day. The professors teacher's lips pulled into a frown and his expression soured. She wasn't about to let him spoil the _rest _of her day.

The intense silence of the classroom was broken suddenly with the creaking of the door. The wooden obstacle moved slowly until the head of a young woman peered inside. She was quite a few years older than any of the students here. Her hair was long and inky. It fell just below her elbows and her eyes were just as dark.

"My apologies sir, but is this the advanced painting class?" She asked quizzically. Professor Roba nodded stiffly. It was quite clear that he was not happy to have his class interrupted for any reason. His thick and calloused hands grasped tightly at a textbook. Perhaps he was ready to toss it at her head? She certainly wouldn't put it past him.

"Might I suggest that you arrive earlier miss…?" He paused to allow her to introduce herself. She smiled at him kindly. Despite his rude behavior, this person seemed to have already forgiven him.

"I'm sorry, I'm Komadori Hana." The woman paused as her companion entered into the classroom as well, "This is my brother Komadori Taiyomaru. He's the one enrolled in the class." The professor's gaze lit up with recognition. As if his previous mood swing melted right off of him, he immediately perked up and invited the two siblings into the classroom. It was only after the male fully came into view that a collective gasp echoed from the teacher and students alike. Curious as to what may have caused such a reaction from her fellow peers: Kagome took a quick glance at the newcomer.

He was a slightly taller than herself. Dark hair that was left in a tangled mess. He appeared rather handsome, and in Kagome's own view, even more handsome that Inuyasha had ever been to her. He wore a black wife-beater and jeans. However just at the top of his shoulders down part way of his arms were tribal-like arrows crisscrossing through each other. They were black and the lines themselves curved smoothly through themselves.

_Look at those markings!_

_Is he Yakuza?_

_He's gotta be! Who else would get a tattoo?_

The whispers grew louder. The young woman's gaze darkened. Why were they all so worked up? It wasn't like it was affecting them in anyway? Their professor coughed into his hand slightly to catch everyone's attention.

"As you can see our classroom is pretty full," Her gaze darkened at that. No it wasn't. There were plenty of empty seats stacked in the room next door, plus there was more than enough space to fit another desk. He was simply trying to bully this student as well. _'How unprofessional'_ She caught herself thinking. Before any of the students could pipe up though, he continued, "However there are a few spots available by miss Higurashi. Miss Higurashi please raise your hand."

Like before he lowered his moon-shaped spectacles at her. Also just as before the action received no noticeable reaction. Instead she merely moved her items over a seat to allow the siblings to sit together: Taiyomaru taking the seat directly next to her and Hana the one closest to the aisle. She forced herself to not grin at the teacher's annoyed expression.

His wrinkled lips pulled into a frown and his grasp over the textbook tightened once more. He sure wasn't pleased with her lack of responses to his taunts. Then again, she was used to those who appeared 'different' than people in the modern era. What were a few markings on a stranger when she was used to demons trying to lop her head off?

The young man next to her seemed to sense her self-satisfied aura at one-upping the professor. His lips twitched slightly and nodded his thanks to her for allowing him and sibling the seats together. She returned it with one of her own. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all?

* * *

><p>Beads of perspiration formed on Miroku's flesh. He knew that this day was coming; he just hadn't expected it to be so soon. The redhead beside him grasped for his hand. She squeezed it slightly-comfortingly. His heart trembled beneath his breast, but he knew what he must do.<p>

The not-so-pious monk released his new mate's hand temporarily to gain his comrade's attention. Inuyasha glanced up from his spot at the tree's basin. His gaze narrowed at the wolf beside him, but said nothing. This was not something for him to interfere with.

Sango on the other hand kept her face lowered. Her attention solely focused on grooming Kirara's soft fur. The nekomata was pleased with this newfound attention and proceeded to press her face against her mistress' hand harder. She was already used to the redhead's presence and thought nothing of confronting her.

"I…have an announcement to make." Miroku spoke up; his violet gaze settling on the slayers still form. She refused to face him-refused to let him see her tears. "I decided to take Ayame as my wife and mate." Sango's hand stilled as her shoulders began to tremble. _'Please no'_. "So for the next few weeks I'll need to go to the northern tribe and deal with affairs there regarding the mating."

The monk pierced Inuyasha with a sharp stare, "I'm counting on you to take care of things here without any problems." There was a sharp accusation in his tone. Inuyasha shrugged and gave his usual 'feh' but said nothing more. On a normal day he would've cursed the monk out for even _thinking _about leaving the group for an extended period. However today was different. Today he was referring to the last day Kagome had been here and their terrible fight. It was unclear as to whether she'd even return. The hanyou's ears drooped slightly. It was never his intention to drive her away-he just…lost his temper.

"We'll be fine. You go ahead." The silver-haired male finally spoke up. He knew that he wished to speak with Sango privately. But the fact of the matter was, was that she wasn't ready to talk to him yet. If that conversation were to happen, then it would need to be at a time when she was much calmer. He didn't want them to have to go through the same fight that he and Kagome did before.

Ayame pulled at Miroku softly. Apparently she too did not wish to confront Sango at this time. The monk sighed then turned his back to the slayer. Hopefully things would go well in his absence.

**Translations:**

Kataho- Companion (one of a pair).

Gijutsu- Art.

Taiyomaru- Literally "Sun Man" (Sun + Masculine name ending).

Hana- Blossom.

Roba- Ass (donkey).

Komadori- Japanese Robin (Erithacus akahige).

**Naruto Fan's Notes: **Okay so I'll be honest, I really did have a bit of a hard time piecing this together. I had to rely on a close friend of mine a lot throughout this story to help me get as accurate as possible especially with a disability like muteness. So if any of you noticed anything slightly 'off' in that regard, I'd truly appreciate constructive criticism on it so I can fix it. Also I'm more of an English person rather than art, so I did do quite a bit of research. So all you art fans also let me know if I need to correct something, I won't take offense. :) Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a response with your thoughts!


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